For the last two years, bikers and joggers using the eight-mile multipurpose trail along Shreveport's Clyde Fant Parkway have navigated around steep mounds of dirt near the Stoner Avenue boat launch after a stretch of the trail was destroyed to construct an emergency dike to combat floodwaters.

It's been an inconvenience for many joggers and bike riders using the trail.

"I ride it when I need to get from downtown to Shreve Island area," cyclist and local attorney Maurice Loridans said. "I hate having to dismount to get up that dike."

In an effort to safely cross the dike, cyclists and runners have created added erosion of the dike and surrounding grass, which can cause unsafe biking and/or driving conditions.

"In trying to skirt the dike, I have actually turned my three-wheel recumbent bike over," said cyclist John Hill. "There was no injury; but I no longer feel safe trying to ride the trail."

Some say they've resorted to using the shoulder along Clyde Fant Parkway instead of the trail or going across the river to Arthur Teague Parkway in Bossier City.

The southern side of a jogging trail broken up by an embankment created in 2014 to shield a building from floodwaters.(Photo: Seth Dickerson, The Shreveport Times)

Who's Responsible?

When the Red River overran its banks and flooded parts of the city in 2014, SPAR Assistant Director Ronnie Hammond said the city broke the trail to save a building near the boat launch by constructing a makeshift dike.

"It was chaotic," he recalled.

City employees took nearby dirt and whatever they could get their hands on to quickly construct a dike as the water rose. The dike stopped floodwaters from seeping into a building near the Stoner Avenue boat launch.

"If we hadn't done that, we would have lost the building," he said.

Part of the road broken up by an embankment built by SPAR to shield a building from floodwaters.(Photo: Seth Dickerson, The Shreveport Times)

The Solution

Hammond said a remedy is on the way in the form of a reconnecting path around the dike, which will stay in place to protect the area from future floods. The project is in the planning stages and will soon go out for bid, he said.

Reconstruction of the trail around the dike is expected to be completed next year.

Seth Dickerson

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Part of the dike built to shield a building near the Stoner Avenue boat launch(Photo: Seth Dickerson, The Shreveport Times)